


wish i could be, part of that world

by rellative



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, Drabble, Kim Mingyu as Ariel, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Not Beta Read, Sad Ending, Xu Ming Hao | The8 as Ursula
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-18 16:16:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18703096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rellative/pseuds/rellative
Summary: It's funny how Mingyu is royalty yet Minghao's the only one wearing a crown. It’s ironic, the dichotomy between them: the way there's no looming bounty on his back, and nothing to be gained from his downfall.He's simply the disposable sea witch, utterly incomparable to the beautiful prince.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [were1993](https://archiveofourown.org/users/were1993/gifts).



> uh quick disclaimer that i haven't used in a while: 
> 
> keep in mind this is merely fiction and not at all meant to represent reality!!! i don’t ship lol, and i wrote this for fun. pls don't take seriously

"You have such a beautiful voice, Minghao," the merboy before him — Mingyu, the sole prince of Atlantis — looks at him with blatant fondness; the tips of his ears flushed a pleasant, timid rose.   
  
Minghao's unaccustomed to compliments, and he's bashful under the boy's stare.

It's funny how Mingyu is royalty yet Minghao's the only one wearing a crown. It’s ironic, the dichotomy between them: the way there's no looming bounty on his back, and nothing to be gained from his downfall.

He's simply the disposable sea witch, utterly incomparable to the beautiful prince.

"It’s getting late, you shouldn't stay here," Minghao says, words laced with worry as he observes the darkness brewing outside the confines of his cave. 

"Nothing's going to hurt me," Mingyu huffs instantly in response, blasé.    
  
Mingyu's too flippant with life, Minghao thinks, arrogant where he shouldn’t be.   
  
"How can you be so sure," he argues, his tentacles a heady, glimmering scarlet as they flush with anger.

Mingyu swims towards him with a scowl, handsome features twisted in contempt.

"I'm not going to die," he spits, "why are you always so worried about me, Hao? I'm not a child."   
  
_ You act like one _ , Minghao wants to argue.  _ You’re careless, _  he wants to yell, _ insensitive to the worries of those around you. _

"You're too reckless sometimes, Mingyu," he says instead, heartbreakingly honest. "You're the prince. You're important, and that means some people would do anything to hurt you. I don't want that."   
  
They're past the point of ignorance now.    
  
Minghao is aware of the impossibility tainting their relationship, has acknowledged that they're not meant to drift away from the lines of friendship.   
  
Yet, he can't help it. He can't help how he melts at the other's presence, can't help how he breaks at his voice— especially when he knows that his feelings are reciprocated yet forcibly repressed.   
  
"No one's going to hurt me," Mingyu reassures, drifting closer and brushing a trembling hand down his cheek.   
  
Minghao sighs in easy defeat, nodding against the warmth of Mingyu’s palm.   
  
His tentacles are quick to grapple onto the broad expanse of Mingyu's tail, while his hands stutter at his waist.   
  
"I'm going to be fine," Mingyu comforts, softening around the edges as he goes pliant in his embrace, "no one can hurt me."   
  
Minghao staves off his fear then, holding the prince close with gentle, anxious hands. 

“I’m going to be fine, Minghao. I’m going to be okay,” Mingyu reiterates, fingers quick to latch onto Minghao’s hair and brush against the thick sapphire of his undeserved crown.   
  
  
  


—

  
  
  
People lie, Minghao discovers.  
  
  
  


—   
  


  
  
The attack on the royal family came as somewhat of a surprise, spurred by a series of rumored attacks against the lower-classes.

Minghao knew Mingyu: paid witness to his acts of kindness and feeble attempts at equality. The prince cared about all of his people, from the ghastly sea witch residing just past the border to the servants that served him on a daily basis.   
  
He wonders where it all went wrong; if Mingyu had merely played up a character around him, a twisted  façade , or if someone else is at fault for the brutal murders that overtook the royal palace. 

He doubts the prince had the energy to deceive him. Minghao’s the beast of the seas, not a mermaid. The royal family’s politics would never affect him, and there was no need for any dishonesty.  
  
  
  


—

  
  
  
Minghao scoffs to conceal his sorrow.  
  
“I’ll never get hurt,” he parrots, grimacing as the first brush of tears cascade down his cheeks, “you stupid, stupid boy.”  
  
Mingyu’s aloofness cost him his life, and Minghao rubs an anguished palm against his chest in a desperate attempt to dull the ache.


	2. Chapter 2

Minghao’s dreams are harsh, disjointed memories hastily sewn together.

 

—

 

“What’s something you desire?” 

Mingyu’s hazy up close, his appearance a blur.

Minghao reaches out to him with trembling fingers, thumbing at the seam of his jaw before his touch drifts towards his lips. He traces Mingyu’s features with hungry eyes, drinking him in.

“You.”

Mingyu’s smile is stunningly bright, even as Minghao’s foggy memories dull and dilute its brilliance.

His scales—coarse against Minghao’s fingers as he trails a familiar path down his tail—are a dazzling, gleaming scarlet. Minghao watches as they gleam in the light, illuminated well even in his dreams.

Mingyu holds him close with a heavy grip, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He noses against Minghao’s cheek with easy familiarity, though his touch feels foreign and far away.

“Do you want me too?”

He closes his eyes as he pops the question, afraid that if he doesn’t relish in this, doesn’t bask in Mingyu’s fleeting presence, he’ll be left alone.

He knows he’s alone actually, here, trapped in his own memories, but he wants to hold on to the illusion for a while longer.

Mingyu’s lips feel strange on his skin, feathery and light, as he whispers out a response.

“Yes.”

He senses when Mingyu departs, senses the briefest brush of his kiss, but he stays there, motionless, with his eyes shut achingly tight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the end

“Do you ever wonder what’s beyond here?”

Mingyu’s features are startlingly clear this time around. His eyes, rich and heartbreakingly bright, shine like crystals. While his lips, plump and daringly red, invite him closer.

“No,” Minghao admits, awestruck.

He catches Mingyu’s gaze, looking at him with honest eyes.

He thinks he’s tethered to Mingyu permanently, meant to stay within his orbit for eternity.

There’s nothing for Minghao out there, away from Mingyu’s soothing presence.

Mingyu smiles, content, tracing a weathered hand across his cheek.

“There’s nothing,” he whispers, “nothing beyond this.”

 

—

 

Minghao knows, deep within himself, that he’s already strayed far from Mingyu’s magnetic pull. 

 

—

 

_ There’s so much beyond the sea _ , he wants to tell him,  _ so much I want to show you.  _

_ There’s so much to see,  _ he wants to yell,  _ so much to experience. _

He’d be talking to a ghost, however, clinging even further to a broken, rotten mirage.

There’s no Mingyu, not anymore.

There’s only his dreams, his desperate memories.

There’s no smiling sea prince, no vicious king.

There’s only air, and the frigid empty waters of the sea.

**Author's Note:**

> so... i can explain lol 
> 
> this fic i began in 2017 after were1993 released the 31 days of gyuhao oneshot series. i was really used to writing meanie, so i wrote a fic inspired by this [chapter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12234018/chapters/27846894) with mingyu as ursula and wonwoo as ariel lol. 
> 
> it's 2019 now and i have no idea how to write meanie anymore... i think the fic suits gyuhao more, or even snwu, but i didn't want to put this in the snwu tag, bc im not used to writing them anymore and i don't think it'd Exactly fit so i decided to make it gyuhao. as it highkey should've been since the beginning. 
> 
> this fic is inspired by that gyuhao one shot chapter and also by a gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous meanie mermay drawing by rsie00 (who sadly isn't on sns anymore to my knowledge) that had mingyu as ariel and wonwoo as prince eric. 
> 
> this fic is not.. the best. but i do like this au! hope someone likes it as much as i do lol
> 
> also: 
> 
> @ were1993: im gifting this to u bc ur fic was the one that inspired this. if that bothers u just let me know! i can ungift it!


End file.
